JUNE 16

HANDFULS OF SPOIL

“And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.” (Ruth 2:16-17)

Ruth the Moabitess had come to dwell in the land of Israel with Naomi her mother-in-law, and being the time of harvest, to help sustain herself, she went to glean in the fields, as was the right of the poor of the land, gathering the fragments missed or left behind by the reapers. When Boaz saw her, found out who she was, he said unto her, “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under Whose wings thou art come to trust.” (Ruth 2:12). She had willingly submitted to the circumstances, bowed low to the gleanings, but also having placed her trust in the Lord, the God of the land into which she had come.

She did not glean enough to succour all the lives of those about her, but her own household was assured. There would come another day, after the testing, after the discipline and processing, when greater victories would follow, but for now, it was simply the handfuls of spoil to meet her own need. In the glorious afterwards, when this proving time was over, and she was married to Boaz, then blessing to many. All in its own order and time.

In this day by day walk with our Lord, no matter how severe the testing might be, precious indeed are the SPOILS He provides along the way – that inflow of peace, the joy of the Lord to be our strength, a supply of grace sufficient for the needs of the day. Praise God!